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The book is a classic, its advice looks sensible, but I always found the title dreadfully cynical.

Having a friend is something else than knowing someone you can influence. It seems to me that finding real friends is much harder than applying this sensible, but limited advice.

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As someone above hinted at, I think the title is more a product of the times. When the book was written, "influence people" probably meant more like what "be influential" or "be a trusted source" means today.

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